.71? 



Hollinger Corp. 
P H8.5 




»%^^/ %^ %,' 



r 

•i 1 



THE 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION 



OF 



THE COLORED POPULATION 



A SERMON, 

PREACHED B V THE 

REV. JOHN B. ADGER, 

IN THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH* 

CHARLESTON, S. C. 

May 9th, 1847. 



PUBLISHED BV REQUEST. 



CHARLESTON: 

T. W. HAYNES, 48 BROAD-STREET. 

1847. 



REV. JOHN B. ADGER : 

Dear Sir — The undersigned Committee, on the part of the Congrega- 
tion of the Second Presbyterian Church, would respectfully solicit a copy of 
your Discourse, delivered Sabbath, May 9th, believing that its circulation 
and perusal will be productive of great good to the cause in which you are 
so zealously engaged. 

Yours, respectfully, 

WM YEADON, ^ 

S. S. CLARKE, 

E. W. BANCROFT, « 

JOHN ANDERSON, f <""»*'""• 

JOHN DEWEES, 

T. R. VARDELL, ) 

Charleston, S. C ., May 12, 1847. 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE 
COLORED POPULATION. 






"And the poor have the gospel preached to them." — Matthew xi. 15. 
"The poor shall never cease out of the land." — Deut. xv, 11. — "The 
Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, he bringeth low and raiseth 
up." — I Sam. ii, 7. "The rich and the poor meet together. The Lord 
regardeth not the rich more than the poor. They are all the work of his 
hand." — Prov. xxii. 2, and Job xxxiv, 19. "The poor ye have always 
with you." — Matt. xxvi. 11. "Hearken, my beloved brethren ! Plath 
not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith aud heirs of the king- 
dom 1 ? but ye have despised the poor." — James ii, 5. 

These and other similar passages of God's word affecting- 
\y teach us that it is a part of the divine arrangement to 
have ranks and orders in human society, and that God expects 
the higher and more favored sons of Adam to care for their 
poor -brethren. These ranks and orders, and their mutual 
relations and obligations, have been from the beginning, and 
shall continue to the end. 

When, however, God was pleased to be manifested in hu- 
man flesh, for human redemption, no other form did he choose 
for Himself to wear but the form of a servant. The incarnate 
Word is emphatically a friend and associate of the poor — nay, 
of publicans and sinners. He calls the penitent poor his 
brethren ; nay, he says, that at the last day He will consider 
every thing done to the least of them as done to Himself. 
Yes ! and so great is the regard He has for His poor, that He 
institutes one particular class of officers in his church — the 
Deacons — on purpose to see after their temporal wants. As for 
their spiritual necessities, He chose them as the special subject 
of His own personal attention when on earth; nay, He puts down 
the preaching of the gospel, by Himself, to the poor, as the 
most distii-iet and peculiar mark of His divine mission. ''Art 
thou he that should come, (said John's messengers,) or do we 
look for- another 1" u Go (said Jesus) and shew John again. 



fcfiose things which ye do see and hear. The blind receive 
their sigtit, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf 
hear, the dead are raised up, and (to cap the marvellous cli- 
max) the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed 
is he who shall not be offended in me." As if He had said, 
"Blessed is he who shall recognize, ii all these tokens* the 
proofs of my divine authority. Blessed is he who can, by a 
spiritual discernment, give to each its absolute, and to each its 
comparative,, weight and importance. Blessed is he who has 
an eye to see that the chief glory of the gospel is not those 
miracles wherewith it was introduced, but its testimony to 
God's free, sovereign, all-humbling, all-equalizing love for the 
poorest ; its testimony to Christ's compassion and friendship 
for the poorest ;. its testimony to the regard had, in the plan of 
salvation, for the very poorest; its testimony to the immortality 
of the poorest ; its testimony to the priceless value of the souls 
of the poorest, for whom Christ shed his blood, and to whom, 
emphatically, Christ preached : its testimony to the grand duty 
of the church and the minis! ry, to see that the poor have the 
gospel p?eached unto them." 

The grandest and most distinctive peculiarity of the gospel! 
dispensation is, therefore, its adaptedness to the state of the 
most miserable, and the attention it nays to the, n in particular* 
Not those that are whole, buttle sirk ; not the righteous, but 
sinners; not many wise, or mighty, or nob'e, but the foolish, 
the weak, the base, the despised, halh God chosen, that no 
flesh should glory in his presence. The gospel is for those 
who have nothing and deserve nothing. It is for the poor in 
every sense of the term. But, alas! those who need do not 
always desi.e. "The blessings dispensed by the gospel pos- 
sess no charm for men morally and spiritually dead." * They 
will not come to the gospel ; it, therefore, goes to them. To 
the poor the gospel is preached. As the great peculiarity of 
the gospel is its adaptedness to the poor, so the great duty of 
its friends and receivers is to carry it to the poor. Where the* 
greatest destitution of the gospel is, thither its lovers most 
earnestly seek to send it. The Christian delights in hearing; 
the blessed sound himself, but he is no Christian if he will not 
sacrifice its music for his own ear to that mercy which it may 
and can convey to the ear of the poor and guilty and wretched 
around him. No Christian man, therefore, and no Christian 
church, acts up to the spirit of the Christian dispensation, if 
be or. they will not sacrifice time, toil, ease, money, every 

* Dr. Chalmers^ 



worldly good — nay, even their own religious privileges and en 
joyments — in order to extend the word of life to perishing souls; 
in order that the poor may have the gospel preached to them. 

My Christian Brethren ! I appear before you this morning 
as one of yourselves, asking your fraternal counsel and assist- 
ance. More than twelve years ago you sent me forth as a 
missionary to the Armenians. I thank God for much happinesi 
and for some success in that interesting field. But, brethren, 
my mind had previously been strongly drawn to another mis- 
sionary field, lying nearer at home, and into that field nothing 
then prevented me from entering but the want of an " open 
door." Providence has brought me back, and the claims of 
this field have pregsed again — nay, they have, during the whole 
twelve years of my absence, beet* pressing strongly upon my 
mind,. 

Various* considerations have presented themselves in favor 
®f a transfer of my relations from that foreign to this domestic 
missionary work. One is, that the impaired condition of my 
eyesight unfits me for further labors, as a translator, in that 
parched climate, and under that brilliant .sky. Another is, 
that when I went forth it was- with the sympathy and support 
of the Presbyterian church, and of the Southern churches in 
particular; but, this sympathy and support, naturally of great 
value to me, has long been withdrawn* and I have felt myself 
cut off and isolated. Strong and agitating influences, mean- 
while, have been at work, drawing me centrewards, and lead- 
ing me to feel that it is time for me to cast in my lot with my 
own people. 

But, the strongest consideration has been the natural obliga- 
tion which I feel, and have always fe}% to do something for 
these destitute people, coupled with the fact that I consider the 
door of access to be now set open before me. It is with re- 
ference to this point, my Christian brethren, I come to ask, 
this day, your counsel. Has the time come when 1 may suc- 
ceed in the attempt to gather these wanderers into a Christian 
fold ? If, with the aid of my own private friends, I am able and 
willing to give my personal services without charge, will this 
community provide a suitable building for this purpose ? And, 
in particular, will yov\ as a* church — as the church of my child- 
hood, the church in which I was baptized, the church in which I 
was educated, in which I was ordained — will you give me a 
practical/generous and liberal testimony that you do believe the 
enterprise important r and that you do consider me called to un- 
dertake it? 



6i TKE FOOS HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM," 

I shall now call your attention. First, to the enquiry, Who 
are among us •' the poor " ? Then, Secondly, I shall endea- 
vor to shew you that Our poor have not the gospel preached to 
them. And, Thirdly \ I shall produce soma Reasuns why tee 
should awake and rouse ourselves to the duty of seeing that the 
gospel be preached to our poor. 

I. Who ABE QUE POOR T 

The poor of this city are easily distinguishable. They are 
a class separated from ourselves by their color, their position 
in society, their relation to our families, their national origin, 
and their moral, intellectual and physical condition. Nowhere 
are the poor more distinctly marked out than our poor; and, 
yet^ strange to say, nowhere are the poor so closely nnd inti- 
mately connected with the higher classes as are our poor with 
us. They belong to us. We, ako, belong to them. They are 
divided out among us and mingled up with us, and we with 
them, in a thousand ways. They live with us— eating from 
the same store. houses, drinking from the same fountains, dwel- 
ling in the same enclosures, forming parts of the snme fami- 
lies. Our mothers confide us, when infants, to their arms, and 
sometimes to the very milk of their breasts. Their children 
are, to some extent, unavoidably, the playmates of our child- 
hood — -grow up with us, under the same roof— sometimes pass 
through all the changes of life with us, and, then, either they 
eland weeping by our bed-side, or else we drop a tributary tear 
by theirs,, when death comes to close the long connection and 
to separate the good master and his good servant. 

Such, my friends, are those whom we consider the poor of 
this oitv. There they are— behold them'! See them all around 
you, in all these htreefs, in all thes© dwellings- — a race distinct 
from us, yet closely united to us; brought, in God's mysterious 
Providence, from a foreign land, and placed under our care and 
made members of our household*?. They fill the humblest 
places of our state of society; they serve us ; they give m 
their strength; yet, they are not more truly ours than we are 
truly theirs. They are our poor — our poor brethren ; children 
of our God and Father; dear to our Saviour; to the like of 
whom Be preached ; for the like of whom He died ; and to the 
least of whom every act of Christian compassion and kindness 
which we shew, fie will consider as shewn also to Himself 



II. OUK POOR HAVE NOT THE GOSPEL PUEACHEDTO TKK38 



The colored population of this city and its suburbs are wot 
much less than 20,000 in number. Let us see what provision f 
is made for their spiritual necessities. * The galleries of all the 
evangelical churches in this city t put together, could not, by 
any possibility, be made to receive more than one-half their 
number. But, whether those places, closely packed, would or 
would not contain more than ten thousand people, we may 
safely say that not more than 6000 of this people do actually 
find their way into those galleries. How large a proportion 
of these 0000 do you suppose are qualified to comprehend and 
to profit by the sermons preached to the while people ? Is it 
one-half — is it even one-third their number? How small a 
fraction, then, of the whole mass, can be said to have the gos- 
pel preached unto them! Two thousand of them are thus fa- 
vored! Eighteen thousand of them are thus neglected! 

I know that some in this community would say that our poor 
servants are provided for in this respect. Yes! they are pro- 
vided for* as a hireling shepherd might be said to provide food 
for his master's sheep, who should retire into a smttjl enclosure 
with their provender, well knowing that not one half of fhem 
could crowd in after him. Yes! they are provided for as that 
hireling might be said to have provided food for that hungry 
moiety of his muster's flock, who, after he had been pursued 
by them into that narrow stable, should then hold up their food 
so high as to be quite beyond their reach I 

Do you ask whether 1 mean to reproach the pastors of our 
white churches for not preaching in a more simple style? I 
answer that my object is neither to approve nor to condemn 
the conduct of ministers in this city. It is not them, as indivi- 
duals, I compare to the unfaithful hireling shepherd, his the 
ministry and the church, in general, who have neglected to 
see that the gospel is preached to our poor. The conduct of 
the individual ministers may be excusable, or h may be inexcu- 
sable. They might be able to preach, in a suitable manner, 
at the same time, to both classes of their hearers, or they 
might not be able so to preach. I am not concerned, at pre- 
sent, to decide that question. The individual mini*tep is but 
the creature of the present prevailing system. 1 am dealing 
with facts as they are. 1 say, the present plan of preaching 
the gospel to out poor is a failure. These sheep of our Mas- 
ter are not supplied with spiritual food. The truth, as now 
dispensed, does not reach them, and they cannot reach it. Nor, 
on *he present plan, can we ever hope to do our dut 1 



We never can have galleries enougl* for them ; and we never 
could gather them all into galleries, if we had them ; and, 
unless a great change, in various particulars, shall take place 
in the feelings of both our white preachers and white con- 
gregations, we never can expect the ordinary and settled 
ministry of this city to satisfy and to supply boih classes of 
their hearers. We must, therefore, collect these people, so 
far as they are yet unprovided for, into churches built for 
themselves ; and we must devote certain men exclusively to 
rheir thorough religious training and discipline. 

I would have you, Christian brethren, to cast your eye over 
this gallery, when your pastor is eloquently discoursing in 
your ears the sweet music of the gospel. I would have you 
cast your eyes, if possible, over this gallery, and see whether 
it is music to the comprehension, the taste, the satisfaction,, 
the edification, the profit, of his less educated hearers. 

But, no ! this is saying far too little ! I would not have you- 
look to this gallery, where we must- expect to find some intel- 
ligence as well as piety ;. but I would have you cast your eye 
over the mass of our colored population, in their ignorance 
and their destitution. I would have you consider whether 
you can ever hope tohave the gospel preached to those poor 
wanderers by gathering. them into churches like this, or under 
a ministry like that which you enjoy. I would have you* 
converse with all your servants — both those who attend here 
and those who g° elsewhere — respecting the sermons heard' 
by them, to see how well they understand. Yes-!' I would 
have you examine all your servants, those humble members- 
of your family circle, and see what they can intelligently 
tell you of the doctrines of the gospel^ or of the facts of its- 
history. And here do< not point me to- those few remarkable 
cas«s which certainly do exists wherein^ notwithstanding 
everv disadvantage of circumstances, even their intellect has- 
worked itself out into the light of truth,, as though a block of* 
marble should chisel itself into a siatue ; but, ponder serious- 
ly and solemnly the moral and religious condition of the 
great mass of this population. Reflect, 1 beseech you, how 
few of them come within actual reach of the truth, and yet 
how many temptations are clustering thick around their path 
in this crowded city. Take your evening walk over the 
suburbs, and see what dens of iniquity those are at almost 
every corner of the streets, A minister of the gospel, now 
in this city, who makes it his constant practice to visit those 
»hoj£tkeepersy told roe, that, wher^h« calls on some of thenv 



vn the week dat/s, to speak with them of their souls, they have 
not time to talk with him, because they have so many custom- 
ers to wait on, but that when he gm*s to see them on the 
Lord's Day, for the same purpose, the same difficulty still 
meets him. So many customers to wait on both on Sundays 
and on all the other days of the week, that the shop-keeper 
himself has no time to attend to his own religious interests! 
Do you know who those customers are? Your poor! Do- 
you know what they are buying? The water* of Fire antl 
the distillation of Death! Do you -k-now how they obtamthe 
means of procuring this indulgence ? You can Letter answer 
than I, and you arc ignorant, indeed, if unable to answer. My 
friends, our poor are learning intemperance, and they are 
learning dishonesty. They are being corrupted and destroy- 
ed, both soul and body. One of our wealthiest and most 
intelligent planters lately told me that he loses every year 
$1000 or $1500 in the destruction of his servants by intem- 
perance. The master is thus robbed of his servant, while 
the poor servant, alas \ is equally robbed of his immortal 
soul ! Yes, my brethren, this is the process that is going on 
in this community, under our very eyes, and yet some vainly 
imagine that our poor are supplied with th^ preaching of the 
gospel, and that no new and special efforts- are needed fur 
their good ! 

Let me tell you what is necessary, in order that we may 
be aide to say that to our poor the gospel is preached. Give 
them suitable church room and a suitable ministry devoted 
entirely to their good. Let them be induced, by such allure- 
ments as these, to crowd the place of worship; yet, be care, 
ful how they are suffered to crowd into the spiritual church. 
Invite them all to hear the g«»pel, but receive them only alter 
careful and thoipugh examination into the membership. Let 
those who are admitted he built up in the faith, not only by 
suitable preaching, but by the laborious and persevering cate- 
chetical teaching of them, in private. Indoctrinate thorough- 
ly, their class- leaders,. that- they, may communicate sound 1 * 
d4)ctrioe to the others. Fay great attention to the youth ; 
and, with reference to the whole congregation, aim not at 
exciting them, but at instructing them. Thoroughly imbue 
their minds with the principles and precepts of the Bible, 
and store them with the facts and narratives of its history. 
At the same time, watch over them, as far as possible, both' 
directly and by means of their leaders, as a faithful shepherd 
watches over his sheep. Let the discipline of the church 



10 

be firmly and faithfully administered upon them. This is 
what we need. Such a course as this, quietly and persever- 
ingly pursued for ten years, would shew the most delightful 
results. Different, alas ! very different, is the present state 
and character of our efforts to do them good. Our poor have 
not the gospel preached to them. 

And now I proceed to bring forward i 

III. Some considerations which should rouse us to 

THIS MUCH NEGXECTED DUTY. 

And, First, 

God has committed the gospel to us, as Christians, for the 
very purpose of our seeing that it is preached to the poor. Our 
business in this world, our very object in living, and God r s 
purpose i ri keeping us alive, is that we may promote this end. 
If it were not for this purpose of Goo's, my brethren, you 
would not be alive this day. If it were not to aid in this and 
other similar works of benevolence, the properly you now 
hold would have been placed in other hands. By being, faith- 
ful to this duty, and not otherwise, our own Christian graces 
will flourish. Christ was a friend of sinners,, the associate 
of publicans, the benefactor of the poor. If we do not seek 
the benefit of our poor, how can we be like Christ ? An in- 
terest, a deep and lively interest, in the spiritual well-being 
of this population, would be of incalculable spiritual advan- 
tage to ourselves. The missionary spirit is an element of the 
almost life and potency in the moral constitution of any 
e-hureh. But a spirit of concern for the salvation of these 
our poor would be the missionary spirit. What Dr. Chalmers 
says to his friends in Edinburgh, I may say, with far greater 
propriety and emphasis, to you : " Do not think that it is ne- 
cessary that you should travel thousands of miles, or that you 
have immense oceans to traverse, before you can engage in 
a missionary work, There are wretched creatures in many 
parts of this town who are at as great a moral distance from 
the gospel, and from all its lessons, as if they had been born 
and lived ail their days in the wilds of Tartary." 

Secondly, 

The grand distinction of the gospel is, that it is designed es- 
pecially for the poor. This is its leading object and end. 
Why seek to confine it to the rich, the intelligent, the great, 
she viFtUioas, when it is given to be preached especially to- the 
poor and wretched and sinful/ *■• I don*t want to s-uperficiaHze, 



Tr - 

(says Dr. Chalmers,) I want to go to the very bottom of the 
pool and fish up the very lowest. Go (he says) to the very 
humblest in society, and let me see the Christian church per- 
forming its functions and letting down its services to the very 
meanest and poorest." 

Again, he says : u I am sure that the ruder and the rawer 
the material out of which the finished goods are worked, the 
greater is the triumph of the manufacturing art." Oh, my 
Christian brethren, would not the salvation of our poor be a 
glorious trophy of our gospel ? As ransomed souls — as jus- 
tified and perfected spirits in Heaven — would they not be 
bright stars in our crown of rejoicing, and also in our blessed 
Saviour's diadem of glory — stars all the brighter for the thick 
gloom of that night in which they v\ere wandering before ? 

Thirdly, 

Is it not a most attractive and inviting circumstance that 
these poor are, in themselves, of such inestimable value as 
immortal beings? To preach the gospel succe>sfully to our 
poor, is to save so many souls from death. ' Honor all men," 
says the Apostle. Why honor all ? Because God made all — 
because all have one common origin, nature and destiny — 
because all have capabilities for endless and unmeasurable 
improvement — because for the redemption of all God made 
His Son a sacrifice — and because the common nature of all 
God's Son united with His own, and now every one of them, 
even the poorest, has an Elder Brother seated on Heaven's 
throne. For these reasons we must not neglect to have the 
gospel preached to our poor. 

Fourthly, 

The faithful preaching of the gospel to these poor will be 
followed by great advantages to our own children. These peo- 
ple are in our very families, «uid their ignorance and their 
irreligion must inevitably affect the morals of our own off- 
spring. 

Great advantages will also follow to ourselves. This, my 
brethren, is no new experiment which we propose to try. It 
has already been fairly tried, in various parts of this and our 
neighboring States ; and the conviction has been forced, 
more and more, upon all observing minds, that the more tho- 
roughly these people are imbued with the principles of di- 
vine truth the better they become, in every respect. These; 
rough diamonds, worn, as they must necessarily be, on the 
bosom of our domesiic life, the more perfectly they are freed 
from their natural incrustations of ignorance and corruption, 



12 

will all the more enrich and adorn. Inertness, incapacity, 
untractableness, untrustiness, wastefulness, supineness, — 
these are very great evils, affecting not only the particular 
individuals who exhibit these moral incrustations, but our- 
selves, with whom these individuals are so closely connected. 
Now, it is the gospel, and the gospel only, which will entire- 
ly remove from this people all these remains of their former 
barbarous and uncivilized condition, advancing to the very 
highest perfection those to whom, as operatives, we must ne- 
cessarily look, in all our domestic and civil economy. 

Great advantages will follow, also, to the community at large. 
Dr. Chalmers says, of the system of schooling and preaching 
in Scotland, that it has *■ conferred the highest benefits on the 
one or two uppermost strata of society, but, overlooking and 
neglecting the lower, has left a smouldering fire among the 
very foundations of the commonwealth." In this city, too, 
as in every other Christian country, there are masses of prac- 
tical Heathenism. "In our large cities, (says a Scotch peri- 
odical.) there is a dreadful collection ot ignorance, of ungod- 
liness, of gro*s sin, and, as a consi quence. of heart-rending 
misery. The State has enacted laws, and appointed judges, 
and organized its police force, ami built jails, and erected 
gibbets, and rid society of many a ship-load of convicted fe- 
lons, and still the masses of go<ilessne>s, and crime, and 
wretchedness, have remained undiminished 4 nay, have gone 
on fearfully accumulating." 

Now, so far as this description applies to our community, it 
may be safely said that the gospel is our remedy for all these 
evils. Moral restraints are a mightier means nf governing 
mankind than mere force. Bring the influence of religion to 
bear upon the masses, and you relieve the body politic of a 
dead weight and disembarrass the government of that which 
clogs and oppresses its whole machinery. 

Great ad vantages c&thethurch will also accrue from the 
diligent preaching of the gospel to our poor. "The assidui- 
ties of Christian principle." in this work, will bring their own 
blessing with them. Here is a wide field for church exten- 
sion in the South. Here is a missionary field which is com- 
petent to rouse the enthusiasm of many a pious youth, who 
does not feel pressed into the ordinary service of the minis- 
try, because the call to that work is not loud enough. Here 
is the work, my brethren, which will raise up a Southern 
^ Ministry. This business of preaching the gospel to our poor 
is what will fill your recently endowed seminary with stu* 



13 

<<3ents. Providence has been preparing our way. Brighter 
days will surely dawn on you, if you will but see that the 
gospel is preached to your poor. 

Fifthly and Finally, 

The great reason for rossing ourselves to this work is, that 
this is our bound en duty. To our poor the gospel ought to be 
preached. Christ's command has been given. We must an- 
swer to God if we neglect it. There is no possible excuse. 
All things are ready, if your hearts are ready. You have a 
duty to do as a church. Your Presbytery and your Session 
urge it on you. Good and wise men in this city unanimously 
approve. For the performance of this work, on your behalf, 
I offer you my services, if thought equal to their price. That 
price is nothing more than a place in which to operate, and a 
very few helpers krthe work. This work is for the benefit of 
your poor. Yes, they are yours — 4hey are ours. They 
are not like the poor in Ireland, having claims on all 
the world ; the claim of these is on us, for we claim them as 
ours. They claim us, therefore, as theirs. Arid God knows 
the j-tisiice of the claim t and if we despise it God will judge 
us. The blood of these souls will be on us, if we neglect it 
any longer. We put the invincible might of Christianity 
against us and our institutions, if we refuse. God's curse 
will come not causeless. Blight on our country, blight ou 
our church, and blight on our own souls and those of our chil- 
dren, will be the inevitable and direful consequence. 

My Brethren, I urge on you to meet the pressing demands 
of this subject, for the sake of a whole continent lung in Pa- 
gan darkness and wretchedness. Ethiopia stretches forth her 
hands unto God and unto you. Give to her children here the 
gospel, and let some of them arise to carry it over to her I 

I urge you to meet the subject, for the sake of the ignorant 
and perishing at your own door. Providence gives you a fo- 
reign missionary work in your own families. Can you turn 
your back on a subject which appeals to you on behall of your 
own servants ? Figure to your minds your dying servant, in 
humble but affecting tones, accusing you of having neglected 
to have the gospel properly preached to him ! Figure to your 
mind the meeting you will have with them all, before the bar 
of their Master and of yours ! 

Do what I urge on you, because the country is waking up 
and looks to Charleston to take the lead. 
2 



14 

Do it because this city is arousing to so many other pub- 
lic improvements. 

Do it for the glory of it, and with an eye to the recompense 
of the reward. It is for Christ; for the least, indeed, of His 
brethren — but it will be noticed at the last day. The money 
will not be lost to you, but transmuted into the gold of Heaven. 

Do it because it will be worthy of the Christian dispensa- 
tion — a carrying out into it glorious completion of that which 
Christ died lo begin. 

Do it because it will be a fruit of faith and love acceptable 
to God — a thank-offering for the great mercies of your last 
revival. 

You are hard pressed, at present. Yes! but think of the 
Free Church, how she did most when hardest pressed. Who 
shall put limits to the power of Christian benevolence in one 
single church ? 

You are hard pressed ! Yes — but think of the Church of 
Macedonia, how, in a great trial of affliction, the abundance 
of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of 
their liberality, and so, lo their power, yea, the Apostle bears 
record, and beyond their power they were willing — nay, even 
pressing, with their gifts. 

Ask Flirin and Henry and Ashmead to say what ye shall 
do ! Take counsel of your buried children — your buried 
parents. 

Ask the Master how he would have you meet this call, and 
may He give you grace to give, and may He accept and re- 
ward your gifts ! 



APPENDIX, 



I. — Extract from the Charleston Courier, of May \Ztk. 
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE COLORED PEOPLE, 

A large and respectable meeting was held at the Second Presbyterian 
Church, on Sabbain morning, May 9th, after a discourse by Rev. J. B. 
Adger and an address by Rev. C C. Jones, D. D , on the best mode of 
securing, in an efficient and proper manner, the religious instruction of the 
colored people. After the reading of the resolutions adopted by the Ses- 
sion of the Church, 

On motion of W. C. Dukes, Esq , the Hon. R. B. Gilchrist took the 
Chair, and introduced the subject with some most appropriate remarks, 
expressive of the importance and interest of the occasion. Mr. William 
Miller was requested to act as Secretary. 

The following resolutions were then introduced in a very full and able 
speech by Hon. F. H. Elmore, and seconded, with some additional re- 
marks, by Alexander Black, Esq. : 

Resolved, That, in the opinion of this meeting, the proper religious in- 
struction of the colored population is a duty pressed upon us by considera- 
tions of sound policy, as well as Christian obligation. 

Resolved, That we concur entirely in the opinions expressed by the 
Session of this Church and by the Presbytery of Charleston, that, in order 
that such instruction should be given efficiently, and, at the same time, 
with proper safe-guards, it must be afforded by thoroughly educated min- 
isters, of sound principles, who are devoted to the welfare of that people, 
and who understand our institutions. 

Resolved, That the offer of the Rev. John B. Adger, to devote himself 
gratuitously to this work of piety and usefulness, embodying, as he does, 
in himself, all the qualifications desirable for this delicate and responsible 
office, should be accepted, and the funds be immediately subscribed for the 
erection of a Church for a colored congregation under his ministry. 

Resolved, That a s 'bscription for this object be now opened to raise 
the funds necessary, to be received by the committee appointed by the 
Session, and expended under their management. 

The meeting then having given an opportunity to all present of sub- 
scribing, the meeting was adjourned. 

R. B. GILCHRIST, Chairman. 
„ William Miller, Secretary. 



II. — Extract from the published Minutes of the Presbytery of 
Charleston, at thtir late meeting at Barnwell Court House* 
April, 1847. 

The Special Committee, (Rer. Drs. Thornwell and Howe,) to whom 
was referred the propriety of establishing a Church for the colored popQ- 



is 

lation in the city of Charleston^ presented the following Report, which 
was adopted : 

*'The Committee to whom was referred the matter in relation to the 
establishment of a Church tor the colored population in the city of Charles- 
ton, beg leave to report : That, in their opinion, public sentiment has un- 
dergone a very great change in the State of South-Carolina, in reference 
to the religious instruction of our colored population. Providence has 
opened a wide and effectual door to missionary effort among them, which it 
is the duty of the Church to enter, and, though some difficulties still exist, 
these, it is hoped, will gradually be removed by Christian zeal, patience,, 
prudence and perseverance. This department of labor belongs exclusively 
to the Southern Church. Our brethren in other lands and other portions 
of our own country are exposed, and, for the most part, justly exposed, to 
so much suspicion and distrust, that they cannot have free access to the 
slaves of the Sou*h. Unacquainted with the nature of our institutions — 
strangers to the prejudices, habits a*:d peculiarities of the negro — incapa- 
ble of appreci ting his peculiar sympathies and associations — ministers 
from abroad, even if they were permitted to enter the field, could not be 
expected to cultivate it with the same success which is likely to reward 
the labors of our own men. The Committee, therefore, believe that God 
has imposed upo-i the churches and Christian people of the South, in a 
pre-eminent degree, the duty of spreading the Gospel among the colored 
population,, whether slave or free. This class of the community is com- 
mitted to us ; andleanness and barrenness must be — will be — entailed as 
a curse upon our Churches, if they suffer the multitudes of these poor, 
whom God has settled among them, to perish for the bread of life From 
the very nature of their position they are dependant upon us They can- 
not form Churches among themselves, call pastors, and support the Gos- 
pel. Without property, without concert, without, the means of co-opera- 
tion and united effort, they must be supplied with God's word, as they are 
supplied with their daily bread, by the hands of their masters. They 
seem to be a sacred trust, which is to prove the faith, the charity, the self- 
denial and spiritual zeal of the Southern Church : and the most effectual 
answer which can be given to the calumnies of Abolitionists and misgnid- 
ed Philanthropists will be persevering diligence in training this people for 
glory, honor and immortality. The tendency of the gospel is to soften all 
that is harsh in the relations of master and slave, to prevent the one from 
being a tyrant' and the other a rebel ; it will sweeten their intercourse — 
authority will c. ase to-be severe and obedience cease to be a task. 

Your Committee are delighted to learn that the attention of Brother 
Adger, of Charleston, has been turned to this subject, and that he seems 
to be disposed to embark in an enterprize to give more efficient religious 
instruction to this class of the community. So numerous are the blacks 
in this city, that whatever efforts are made must, to be successful, contem- 
plate congregations separate and distinct from those of the whites. The 
colored people need teachers exclusively devoted to themselves — men who 
know their character, habits and associations and, at the same time, of 
large and liberal views — who can adapt the instructions of the pulpit to 
the intellectual condition of this benighted race. The tendency of the 
colored people to mistake fervor for piety, passion for devotion* and zeal 
for faith, is so strong that too much care can hardly be exercised by the 
Church in selecting ministers to labor among them. Your Committee 
rejoice to believe that this Brother is, in many respects, admirably 6tted 
to enter upon this sphere of labor. He is a native of the Stale, exposed 






17 

So none of the jealousies and suspicions which would attach to & stranger 
At his first entering upon the ministry his mind was deeply impressed with 
the importance of this subject ; and, when he found no open door, he turn- 
ed his eyes to the destitute and degraded of another land. At the end of 
twelve years God has brought him back to the scenes of his youth ; his 
bowels stili yearn for the slave, and the door which be once lamented was 
closed, and prayed to have opened, is now marvellously wide and effectual. 
The Providence of God seems to shut him up to enter and work. Your 
Committee are persuaded, from the view which they have been able to 
take of the facts, that Brother Adger, who is reported still to have some 
lingering doubts on the subject, ought to abandon the missionary field in 
which he has been hitherto employed, for the equally wide and import- 
ant field which is now white for the harvest. The position of things in the 
East is such as not to require absolutely his presence. The mission is 
comparatively strong, and the Churches which have been planted seem to 
be permanent nurseries of the Gospel. The door, moreover, is open to 
the world — from any part of Europe or America the servants of God may- 
go and labor there; but here we are restricted in our choice of men to a lim- 
ited region, and a region in which the supply is small : and your Commit- 
tee feel that Presbytery will not be justified in sparing a man to do what 
others can do as well when he might be commissioned to do what is not 
likely to be undertaken without him. "We cannot but think that the dis- 
ease which was God's immediate agent in bringing our brother back to us, 
is to be regarded as an index of God's will, that he should now labor where 
his earliest impulses prompted him to put in his sickle. 

Should Brother Adger be induced to enter upon this field, your Com- 
mittee are clear that he shonld eudeavor to collect a separate congregation 
of the blacks ; but, they are not prepared to recommend any plan, in re- 
ference to the organization of a Church and the administration of dis- 
cipline. Three schemes are conceivable, though all do not seem to be 
equally compatible with our distinctive principles as Presbyterians. One 
is to place the Church entirely under the jurisdiction of Brother Adger, as 
an Evangelist, until it should have attained sufficient maturity to elect its 
own officers and discharge the functions of a particular Church of Christ. 
From the state of society among us, it would probably require a length of 
time to reach the maturity supposed: and your Committee cannot see but 
that it is perfectly consistent with our principles that an Evangelist should 
sustain to an infant and feeble Missionary Church the relations, and dis- 
charge the duties, of a parochial Presbytery. He would be at liberty to 
consult discreet and judicious men, but the responsibility of all measures 
of Government and discipline must fall finally upon himself. Another 
plan is to appoint a session consisting of white elders, who should have 
the oversight of this flock ; but, then, the difficulty occurs — Who is ta 
choose these Elders] According to our system, every Church has a right 
to elect its own officers ; and these colored Presbyterians, if organized in- 
to a separate Church, could not constitutionally be deprived of this right. 
A third plan might be to regard it as a branch of some existing Church, 
and to have all its discipline administered by the session of that Church 
This and the first proposed seem to be the only schemes fully compatible 
with our circumstances in the Southern States In conclusion, your Com- 
mittee would recommend ttf Presbytery the adoption of the following re- 
solutions : 

1. That the Presbytery heartily approve of the efforts which the Rev 
J B. Adger, of Charleston, proposes to make for the purpose of impart- 



IS 

mg more effectual religious instruction to the colored population of that 
city, 

2. That while the Presbytery recommends the formation of separate 
colored congregations, it is not prepared to advise that they be organized 
into separate Churches, but rather that they be placed under the discipline 
and spiritual jurisdiction of existing sessions, or treated as missionary 
Churches under the care of an Evangelist. 

3. That this Presbytery is persuaded, under all the circumstances of 
the case, there is a call of Providence to Brother Adaer, to abandon his 
mission in the East and enter upon the field which is whitening to the har- 
vest at his very doors. 

4 That in giving this opinion, the Presbytery would not be understood 
to disparage the Foreign Missionary work, but simply to inculcate the im- 
perative obligation of the Southern Church, to give the Gospel to the 
negro and the slave..' 1 



III. — Extract from the Richmond Times and Compiler>ofJune 
2d, 1 847, with reference to the late meeting, in that city, of 
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. 

"This ecclesiastical assembly is- one of great dignity and ability. It 
was gathered from every section, almost, of the United States. From 
Northern New-York to Texas — from the Atlantic to the farthest civilized 
bounds of the West, it was represented ; and, in view of this fact, the 
harmony, courtesy and concession which characterized its deliberations — 
especially on the most exciting topic which can agitate the councils of our 
country — excite alike admiration and praise. Its session here will be re- 
membered by the Church in this city with gratification, and its first convo- 
cation in this city, we hope, will not be without national benefits. " 

On the last day of their meeting, Monday, May 31, the Rev. Mr. Pryor 
of Virginia, submitted the following resolutions: 

i. Resolved, That this Assembly has heard, with satisfaction, the ser- 
mon preached by the Rev. C. C. Jones, D. D , of Georgia, according to 
their appointment, on the subject of the religious instruction of the color- 
ed population. 

2. Resolved, That the Assembly regard the subject as one of very great 
interest and importance, and recognize the good hand of God in opening 
this field to our ministers and missionaries, to so large an extent, and with 
$uch cordial approbation of the community. 

3. Resolved, That the Board of Missions be directed, if it appears to 
them advisable, to appoint a Secretary or General Agent from and for the 
South and South-west, who shall superintend the collection of funds and 
the location of missionaries, and attend to the other duties of this depart- 
ment, in co-operation with the Presbyteries and Churches in that section 
of the country. 

Mr. Pryor said this was the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
Church which, was ever held in Virginia. During its session the exciting 
subject of slavery had engaged their attention ; and he would here say, 
that, as a Southern man, devoted to Southern feelings, Southern rights, 
and Southern principles, he recognized, with high satisfaction, the spirit 
o( liberality and Christian courtesy, which had been manifested by the 
body during the consideration of that subject. No General Assembly, h* 



19 

Relieved, had passed through a discussion of it with so much harmony ami 
Christian feeling — so strong an exhibition of the spirit of concession an<i 
respect for the feelings of one another. 

Mr. Pryor felt assured the South would enter info the spirit and object 
of these resolutions and endeavor to give them efficient operation. The 
spiritual condition of nearly two millions and a half of people was to be af» 
fected by them. He hoped their importance would be deeply appreciated. 
We regard them, said he, as but the incipient stage of the scheme. We yet 
deem that we need something more efficient — we need more zeal, more 
humility, more self-denial, more of the spirit of our Lord and Master, in 
this matter. All, he was sure, would, with one accord, concur in the first 
resolution ; the only resolution on which he thought there might be a dif- 
ference of opinion, was the 3d resolution, which pointed out the kind of 
agent to take charge of the matter. Some man must be elected for that 
important duty ; and he felt persuaded that the brethren from other sec- 
tions would feel the importance of selecting him from the South or South- 
west. He hoped all the resolutions would pass unanimously. It would be 
a most fel citous conclusion to their deliberations. Looking to the ever- 
lasting salvation of those people whom God in His Providence had cast 
amongst us, he hoped the Assembly would see their way clear to pass 
these resolutions unanimously. 

Rev. Mr. Robinson, of Ohio, moved to strike out the 1st resolution. He 
and others could not vote for every thing in Dr. Jones' discourse, and he 
hoped the question of approving that discourse would not be mooted. 

Mr. Pryor said that in adopting that resolution, which expressed a mere 
general satisfaction with the discourse, the members would not, of course, 
be bound for every word or idea it uttered. 

The question on each resolution offered by Dr. Pryor was then put, and 
they were all adopted— the first with two or three dissenting voices, the 
others without dissent. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



020 539 779 6 









H 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



I 



020 539 779 6 



